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Striped Bass History

State-Striped Bass Icon There were originally no striped bass in California. They were introduced from the East Coast, where they are found from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Alabama. The initial introduction took place in 1879, when 132 small bass were brought successfully to California by rail from the Navesink River in New Jersey and released near Martinez. Fish from this lot were caught within a year near Sausalito, Alameda, and Monterey, and others were caught occasionally at scattered places for several years afterwards. There was much concern by the Fish and Game Commission that such a small number of bass might fail to establish the species, so a second introduction of about 300 stripers was made in lower Suisun Bay in 1882.

Historic Striped Bass ImageHistoric Striped Bass Image
In a few years, striped bass were being caught in California in large numbers. By 1889, a decade after the first lot of eastern fish had been released, bass were being sold in San Francisco markets. In another 10 years, the commercial net catch alone was averaging well over a million pounds a year. In 1935, however, all commercial fishing for striped bass was stopped in the belief that this would enhance the sport fishery.


Historic Striped Bass Image


Striped bass have long been one of California’s top-ranking sport fish. About 300,000 sport anglers fish for stripers in California each year. Many of them fish in the San Fransico Bay and delta area, and annually catch over 200,000 fish. These spend over $24 million for goods and services directly connected with striped bass.

Although the primary West Coast population of striped bass is located in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Estuary, they are not confined to this area. Due to their migratory nature, striped bass have been caught from Mexico to British Columbia. As early as 1896, they were reported in the coastal streams of Oregon , where they have established sizeable populations in Coos Bay and the Umpqua River.